Protests flare across Poland after death of woman who was denied abortion
Protests are taking place in more than 40 cities in Poland as part of the All-Poland Women's Strike in response to the death of a 33-year-old pregnant woman who died because a doctor refused to terminate her pregnancy.
This is reported by the Polish edition RMF24
According to the action organizers, people came out to protest in large cities of Poland such as Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, and in smaller cities such as Krosno, Słupsk, and Łomża.
The protests took place against the backdrop of the death of a woman in a hospital in Nowy Targ.
This May 24, a 33-year-old woman, who was five months pregnant, died as a result of septic shock at the John Paul II Hospital in Nowy Targ. Medical records indicate that an ultrasound examination revealed fetal necrosis, but doctors refused to perform an abortion.
A preliminary investigation found that the case was a violation of the standards for providing adequate medical services and obtaining reliable information about the patient's condition.
On Monday, Polish Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski announced the creation of a special commission that will work on developing instructions for medical institutions. The document is supposed to contain an expanded list of circumstances under which pregnancy termination may be authorized.
"Every woman in our country has the right to terminate her pregnancy in case of a threat to her health or life. These two grounds are to be considered separately. That is, a woman has the right to terminate a pregnancy when her life is threatened, and a woman has the right to terminate a pregnancy when her health is threatened," said Health Minister Adam Niedzielski.
The special commission will include experts in the fields of gynecology, obstetrics, neonatology, perinatology and psychiatry, headed by Professor Krzysztof Czajkowski, National Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
To recap, in October 2020, the Constitutional Court of Poland banned abortion in Poland, except in cases where a woman has been subjected to violence or in case of a threat to the mother's life or health. This decision of the Polish authorities caused a flurry of protests.
However, during the first year of the ban, the number of abortions performed in Poland decreased by 90%. In one year, only 107 abortions were legally performed, while in the three previous years before the law was passed, this figure averaged 1,087 abortions per year. Also, according to The Guardian, in 2021, 34,000 Polish women have sought abortions illegally or abroad in other EU countries.